Preston Lions, the most famous club of the Macedonian diaspora in Australia, pulled off a huge surprise in the round of 32 of the Australia Cup, eliminating the great Newcastle Jets and also the defending champions.

photo by Hahn Australia Cup: the Lions celebrates the upset

The Lions started the match badly as goals from Will Dobson and Nikos Vergos in the 17th and 23rd minutes gave Newcastle a 2:0 lead. Everyone thought that the favorite would not only record an easy win, but would also add many more goals, especially since Newcastle Jets is a club from the elite Australian league that was first in the regular season last season, while Preston Lions is a club from the national division. In addition, the Jets are current winners of the Australia Cup.

At halftime, Matthew Bozinovski and Zach Lisolajski came on for the Lions and the turnaround began. Argentine Nahuel Bonada scored a brace in the 55th and 62nd minutes to level the score at 2:2, and the complete turnaround was ensured by substitute Daniel Lazarevski with a goal in the 90+2 minute.

Highlights:

The match was played at a packed Genis Steel Stadium, home of the Preston Lions.

The draw will determine Preston Lions’ opponent in the round of 16.

Preston Lions visited Macedonia last year and played friendly matches with Vardar and Pelister.